Donald Butler

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Donald Butler | San Diego Chargers | LB

2012 Experience: 3rd Season

IDP Fantasy Football Outlook: Like Donald Butler’s player profile on the Chargers website points out, the team thought highly of him in the 2010 draft and traded up to get him in the third round. Expecting big things, Butler unfortunately tore his Achilles tendon in training camp and missed his rookie year.

Fast-forward to 2011, a two down linebacker, Butler was highly effective as a solid run stuffer while producing two sacks, two fumbles and an interception.

This is going to be one of my favorite sleepers (if you can call him that), because I like his odds of growing into a three down role, now two years removed from his injury. Maybe he’s not the greatest in pass protection, but the Chargers must realize he’s too valuable to take off the field and has the stock to be a leader in this defense.

Keep a close eye on Butler in preseason to see if he’s being worked in on passing downs and how effective he is. This is a linebacker that could easily hold LB1 value if he should keep a three down role in this situation. Another positive for Butler his he has a high solo tackle rate in comparison to his overall tackle total. This is a stud waiting to happen!

Update August 17th - The Chargers are working Butler in sub-packages in the preseason, opting to take Spikes off the field instead. Butler has low-end LB1 upside but you can probably get him a little cheaper.

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